A Rope, machete, hand saw, two hands, two legs -- these are the tools Myanmar's citizens are using to clean up the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.
The junta government has been slow to hand out aid and lend a hand in the clean up effort.
While the video below is not of high quality, it shows the primitive tools Myanmar's citizens have to clean up debris.
When I arrived in Yangon on Monday, May 5 (just 24 hours after the cyclone had passed), debris littered the streets. I thought I had entered a war zone.
Trees lay on top of houses, cars and buses. Entire roofs had been lifted off buildings. Billboards had been knocked over. Metal lay twisted on the ground.
That night I woke up to hear the sounds of wood chopping, dragging and sweeping. The next morning the streets were mostly cleared.
One man confirmed that he had worked all night to clear the roads around his home.
"No sleep," one Yangon resident said Tuesday. "The government does nothing. The people clean everything."
With little aid from the military, Yangon citizens were forced to reach into their own pockets for the clean up.
On Saturday May 10, a chainsaw in Yangon costs from $400 U.S. dollars to $150 USD, depending on quality. The shop owner said these were normal prices.
The price of a hand saw costs around $5.50 USD, making this option more affordable. A hammer costs $3 USD.
Prices in Yangon have skyrocketed since the disaster as the cyclone damaged factories and roads leading to the region.
Walking around Yangon and nearby Dalah, I could tell that only the government had $400 USD to spare for chainsaws.
But I did not see them start working until Wednesday.
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